Frightened Rabbit @ Le Poisson Rouge

03Feb09

Frightened Rabbit wrapped up their ten month tour last night with an informal “all-request” show at Le Poisson Rouge. At first I wasn’t sure if the songs requested would be Frightened Rabbit’s own songs, or songs by other groups. As it turned out, most people shouted out Frightened Rabbit songs, but lead singer Scott Hutchison agreed to play the part of The National’s “Fake Empire” he knew, and he threw in a cover of an N-Trance song as well.

Hutchison kind of considered each song as people yelled them out, making comments about the song selection throughout the show. We learned which ones were his favorites, and which one was about an IKEA door draft snake. He was quite startled when the first request of the night was “My Backwards Walk,” a slow song usually saved for the encore. But he was quite happy going along with the “rules” of the night, and went right along playing it. At one point he was taking requests for the next song and he laughed as he declared that the audience had “no idea how to pace a show.”

Since Hutchison and two other band members were seated for the entire time, it wasn’t really the high energy show I saw Bowery Ballroom last month. It was a more intimate set, and I was definitely closer to the stage. The venue isn’t bad once you get past the confusing path you are asked to take to make your way to the performance area (down the stairs on one side of the railing, then back up on the other side, huh?). The only issue was one woman whose dance moves included waving her arms in the air for the entirety of the song, which basically blocked most people’s view of the lead singer. I fully support moving to the music, but she (a) was the only person with their hands up in the air, (b) had extremely long arms, and (c) when asked to be considerate of others, described that it was just her natural instinct to put her arms straight up in the air. Her antics may move to the top of my list of Annoying Things You Can Do At a Concert, actually rising above “being tall and standing one inch in front of me” and “chatting with your friend.” More on this woman, dubbed by one member of the crowd as “crazy-arms,” later…

As far as the opening acts—there were two. Joe Pug was an appropriate opener, and I’d recommend checking him out. He appeared solo on the stage with his guitar and harmonica. The next group Gregory and the Hawk…well, let’s just say the guy in front of me broke out his phone and started looking at his friend’s Facebook page updates. Yes, it came to that. They were just kind of slow and weren’t really commanding any attention, and sort of playing tentatively, and most songs sounded the same. So the crowd was really antsy and eagerly awaiting Frightened Rabbit’s performance.

So I went a little crazy with the pictures. I couldn’t help myself; I was so close to the stage. But don’t worry, I wasn’t using a flash.

Click below for more pictures…

And the crazy one-arm…

One arm

What’s worse than the one-arm eager wave?? The two-arm flailing pair.

A small window of opportunity to get a shot of a seated Scott Hutchison:

Wow, didn’t know that these guys were the Plaid Mafia! I’m enjoying The Midnight Organ Fight (thanks for the rec), and I’m very jealous you’re in New York getting to see these guys (in all their plaid glory) live.

And, speaking of their wardrobe, the lead singer actually stood up on his chair to show the audience that his jeans had gotten so much wear during the tour that there was now a hole in the crotch area (why he chose to broadcast this was beyond me, but it was amusing).

And who was the brave soul who asked this person to put her arms down, pray tell? Glad you’re back. These are fun to read (and Frightened Rabbit is pretty good to listen to), though I can promise you that you will not find me at the Seaport Ice festival in EVER.

Well the general consensus was that somebody had to say something. For a minute Elayna thought that maybe it was all a set-up, as part on an ABC “What would you do?” special. That’s how absurd it was. But sadly, John Quinones never appeared. So two different people attempted to get her attention by tapping her on the shoulder. She ignored the first one, but had a short conversation with the second person (it was not me, I wasn’t close enough), but she didn’t seem too apologetic.